My Latest at ICTMN: Agreements Made on Humans Remains, Karl May Museum Must Follow-Through

Update 2017: The Karl May did NOT follow through, and only agreed to return ONE human remains to a tribe. The others they consider themselves caretakers, and refuse to respect multiple requests to return our relatives for respectful burial.

One hopes they follow through in their agreement, as the Karl May Museum had sat on return requests for four years and done nothing. Hopefully, this time, if found to be of indigenous origin, the human remains will be returned to their descendants properly and respectfully, and returned to the earth.

“In the months since the scalp situation at the Karl May Museum in Radebeul, Germany was brought to the general attention of Indian country, by majority in the German news media, repatriation requests have been presented with amusement at the absurdity of the idea. Alongside stereotypical quips about “wild and excitable” Indians “being on the warpath,” these attitudes negatively reinforced public opinion that backed the museum’s initial refusal, as they felt the items were simply purchased legal property.

At the Bild.de, a regional newspaper, writer Jürgen Helfricht even questioned if some or all of the scalps were actually authentic, saying it might be a “crazy war” on the part of Natives, which might be true if they were fakes. The museum’s director and former curator stated when interviewed, “We do not even know 100 percent if all really come as genuine scalps of human heads. They are only the statements of museum founder Patty Frank. These have never been investigated scientifically….”